Hybrid Vigor
by Exquisiteliltart
Summary: Arranged Marriage AU, Written for Swan Queen Week:


**A/N: TW: Rape, mentions of abortion. **

…

_If you're planning to breed your bitch, there are many resources to help select the best stud service…_

Regina looked up from her reading and crossed her legs as she focused her attention on Henry.

"Mom, um…Clementine is acting weird!" He ran into the study followed closely by their poodle.

"Yes, she's in heat. Remember how we talked about that?" Regina patiently put down her brochure and patted Clementine on the head. She was panting in a way that made it look like she was smiling. She really was the best and most beautiful dog Regina had ever met.

Henry scrunched his face recalling the cross section diagram of a dog uterus that Regina had used to educate him on the ins and outs of breeding. "Well, yeah, but I just want to get to the part where she has the puppies."

"We have about a two week window for her cycle so I'm looking for the perfect father for her puppies now," she smiled and waved the pamphlet in front of him. She had been planning to breed Clementine since she had bought her. She was a perfect dog and would bear an exceptional litter. She also looked at the process as a fun and educational project for Henry.

Now if she could just find the perfect stud. She had been making arrangements for some time, but the first two owners she had spoken with had dogs that were not suitable for Clementine. She didn't mind paying an exorbitant fee for quality service, but she had both potential males inspected by her veterinarian and they were not up to standard. She would settle for nothing but the best for Clementine's future pups.

"Which reminds me, Henry, it's about time for her walk. Why don't you go fix her harness and lead and we'll take her for a nice stroll before dinner?" Regina stood up and smoothed the pleats on her slacks. Having Clementine had given Henry a great sense of responsibility and had provided more bonding opportunities for Regina and him.

"Okay! Awesome!" Henry dashed out of the study. "Come on, girl! Time for walk!"

Clementine clopped away in excitement and Regina followed after to get her jacket and wait by the door. They headed out onto the sidewalk and started their walk. Henry always double looped Clementine's leash around his wrist just as he had learned to do at her obedience training classes.

He was very proud of how smart she was, as was Regina. Clementine had picked up on all her basic commands, such as sit, stay, down, roll over, and heel almost on the first lesson. Now she was learning more complicated tricks like playing dead and dancing on command.

Henry and Regina chatted happily as they walked along enjoying the sunny day. They were bouncing around name ideas for the puppies when something terrible happened. Clementine had stopped and smelled a patch of grass in the neighbor's lawn when she was attacked.

A huge golden retriever came out from behind the neighbor's house and was mounting Clementine before Regina could yell, "Rape!"

She did yell, and yelled it loudly, as she tried to lug the amorous retriever off of her precious poodle. The dog was determined and supernaturally fast as it goofily humped Clementine, looking as pleased as a dog could look.

"Henry, look away!" Regina shielded her son's virgin eyes from the pornographic yet educational sight in front of them. "Clementine, no, bad girl! Don't let that mongrel violate you!"

Regina grimaced and felt betrayed as Clementine stood perfectly still and just let it happen. It was disappointing to discover that when in heat, Clementine just didn't have the same standards in a choice of mate that Regina would have liked for her. She vowed she'd do better to instill high standards when it came to Henry and his dating life. This was lesson number one.

After what seemed like a horrifying eternity, but was actually less than a minute of elapsed time, the golden pulled out and dismounted Clementine. They both sniffed each other and Regina's eyes narrowed at the seemingly satisfied look on her precious dog's face.

"Kalan! Kalan! Come here boy!"

Regina and Henry heard the frantic voice of a woman obviously looking for her loose and unmannered mutt before they saw her. Bouncing yellow hair appeared down the street as she spotted the scene and sprinted towards them.

She was winded and unable to speak by the time to she reached them, and grabbed the dangling leash of her dog pulling him back as Regina took Clementine's leash from Henry's hand. He'd been holding it the whole time. He looked shocked.

"Hey there, sorry if my dog was bothering you, he is stronger than he looks," Emma apologized to the near catatonic boy and furious looking woman standing in front of her.

"What is your name?" Regina asked with clear and malicious intent.

"Uh..hi, oh, um Emma. Emma Swan."

"Do you realize what just happened here?" Regina moved to stand in front of Clementine who was finally looking a bit ashamed about her public sex romp.

"As I said, I'm sorry that my dog got away from me, but he's harmless…don't try and say he bit your kid or something," Emma didn't take kindly to be attacked and this woman standing in front of her looked like a hard ass.

"Worse. Your animal just raped my pure bred poodle."

Emma looked down at Kalan as if she was asking if it was true. The sheepish look he gave back confirmed her fears. "Like…oh, that's bad…yeah, he's not neutered I've been putting off his appointment. Don't want to rob him of his manhood." Emma chuckled, but the sound died on her lips when she met Regina's icy stare.

"Clementine is in heat, dear. I'm not sure if you realize this but with dogs it only takes one time and fertilization is guaranteed," Regina's eyes bulged in a way that frightened Emma and it took her a minute to get Regina's anger and think about the words she was saying.

"You mean that your dog is already pregnant with Kalan's pups? My baby is going to be a dad!" Emma smiled, her eyes shining as she bent down on one knee and rubbed her dog's neck and head.

The other woman's joy at the situation caused Regina great irritation. She looked at Henry, and he was bouncing in excitement, which angered her further. "This is not a cause for celebration, Ms. Swan! I was planning on servicing Clementine with a stud of the highest quality. Your golden is not even the right breed and God only knows his genetics. Tell me, does he show signs of hip dysplasia?"

"Whoa! Are you telling me that my dog isn't good enough to mate with your floosy looking poodle?" Emma was feeling highly offended. Accidents happen and if this woman didn't want her dog getting accidentally bred she shouldn't have brought her out in public while she was in heat.

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying!" Regina lifted her chin in challenge and moved closer to Emma.

Emma moved closer yet until she was right up in Regina's face. "Then why didn't you knock Kalan off when he started getting frisky with her? Maybe you wanted this to happen, your kid certainly seems happy about it."

"Hey! Mom, stop fighting!" Henry pushed between them and put out his arms to separate the two bickering women. "It's too late now so we might just make the best of it, like go back to talking about what we'll name her puppies."

Regina softened a tiny bit when she realized she had upset Henry by losing her temper. "I'm sorry Henry, but you know how badly we wanted Clementine's pups to be perfect and now we'll I'm afraid they will be…not what we hoped for."

"Why not?" Henry asked as he stroked Clementine and looked worriedly between his mom and the dog.

"They won't be pure bred poodle puppies…" Regina shook her head and clutched her stomach. She swallowed thickly as she made the realization. "Clementine is going to give birth to a litter of golden doodles."

"So what, Golden doodles are cute and they'll have that hybrid vigor," Emma added with a shrug. She really didn't see why everyone was upset. As far as she could tell, this woman was planning on getting her dog knocked up anyway. She thought about that for another moment before she smirked and crossed her arms. "In fact, golden doodle puppies are pretty popular. I bet you can sell them for a nice sum of cash. I'll give you a discount on Kalan's stud fee and you owe me half of your poodle's pups."

"We're not giving you any of her puppies," Regina was livid. How dare this perfect stranger who already did enough damage by simply losing control of her dog think that she'd entitled to some of Clementine's puppies?

"My dog is the father; he has paternal rights to his offspring," Emma hadn't thought about it before, but now that she had she wanted a cute golden doodle puppy.

"That's ridiculous! I've never heard anything so preposterous!" She'd rather take Clementine down to the vet and have the puppies aborted then share them with Emma.

Once again, Henry stepped in between the two women and offered the voice of reason, "Can we talk about this later? I think Clementine wants to go home now, and since she's pregnant we have to take extra special care of her, right?"

"Yes, that is right," Regina beamed proudly at her thoughtful and considerate son.

"Mom, can I ask a question?" Henry blinked innocently at his mother.

"Of course, Henry," Regina glanced dismissively at Emma, but she held her ground. Their conversation was not over.

"Shouldn't Kalan and Clementine get married if they are going to have babies together?"

"Oh…dogs don't usually get married…dear." Regina was taken off guard by the question. Henry must have gotten this idea from his book of fairytales or learned it at school. She blinked in confusion. "I have you and I'm not married to your father."

She heard Emma snigger from behind her. She turned around and threw her hands onto her hips to keep from punching the stupid woman. "Do you have something you wish to share?"

"No, hey…I get why your kid's dad isn't married to you anymore."

Of all the ignorant and rude things anyone could say Regina was speechless. She ground her teeth together and she could feel the vein on her forehead bulging as her blood pressure increased.

"I'm adopted," Henry chimed in, volunteering vital information to a perfect stranger. "I never met my dad, or my real mom."

"_Birth_ mother, Henry. I am your real mom," Regina closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. This situation had escalated very quickly. First, her precious bitch was pregnant by a mongrel and now Henry was acting out in ways that she thought they had worked past.

Regina located a business card in her inside jacket pocket and handed it over to Emma. "If you'll excuse us, we must be getting on now. We can make further arrangements later, Ms. Swan."

…

The next day, Regina called the vet's office and inquired about doggy abortion. She was dismayed to learn that the procedure would make Clementine sterile and unable to birth a litter ever again. That was out of the question, and Henry was so excited about the puppies so there was nothing to be done.

Regina was busy at work when her secretary let her know there was a visitor to see her. Moments later, in came Emma Swan toting a 40 pound bag of dog food over her shoulder and a smaller brown paper bag in her hands.

"Hi," Emma carefully sat the big bag down on a chair. She didn't register Regina's scowl, and continued on with an explanation. "So I did some research and made a trip to PetSmart, I bought the best of the best food for pregnancy. It has tons of amino acids and is rich in vitamins and minerals."

"Why?" Regina asked, wondering if this lady thought she wasn't capable of providing food for her own dog.

"I want to help you take care of her, seeing as how my dog got us into this situation. I want to those pups to know their dad," she looked around the office, not meeting Regina's eyes.

"And that?" Regina ignored her comment about Emma not wanting her dog's puppies to be bastards and pointed at the brown paper bag she was clutching.

"Oh, I brought you lunch," Emma smiled and handed over the bag to Regina. She felt a twinge at her own lip, but resisted returning the smile.

Again, Regina wondered why she had brought her lunch, but with a swallow she realized that no one had ever thought to bring her lunch before. She couldn't help but think Emma had an ulterior motive and was trying to win her over with food. She peeked in the bag and saw a chicken salad sandwich with sweet potato fries from Granny's diner. It was her favorite indulgence and one she didn't allow herself to order often. "What do you want?"

Emma shrugged and tried to hide the hurt that crept into her expression, "Like I said, I just want to help out with the puppies. Anything you or the dog needs just let me know and I'm willing."

Regina squinted at her, but decided to test her word, "Very well, this evening Clementine with need her evening constitutional so you may come over then and tend to her."

Emma pursed her lips and her forehead knotted in confusion, "You mean take her for a walk?"

"Yes," Regina nodded once and dismissed her.

…

Emma looked up at the big white house on the corner of Mifflin, and checked the text message Regina had sent confirming the address. She knocked on the door and waited nervously until Regina pulled it open.

"You came," Regina said by way of greeting. Emma gripped Kalan's leash a bit tighter, as he was already sniffing Clementine and wagging his tail. Emma knew that look, like he was ready to go for round 2 with the bitch.

"Yep," she patted Clementine's head as Regina looked disdainfully at Kalan. She couldn't admit that she was imagining how the puppies would look.

"Shall we?" Regina offered a smile and stepped out onto the porch, leading Clementine along on her leash.

"Where's Henry?" Emma asked as she had assumed the boy would be the one wanting to take the dog on a walk.

Regina cleared her throat, "Henry isn't feeling well today so he is resting, but I wanted to take the opportunity to speak to you about something."

"Okay," Emma picked up her pace slightly and Regina followed suit. The dogs walked in front of them as they rounded the block.

"For whatever reason, my son is invested in the idea of our dogs marrying each other. I am wondering if you would be so kind to indulge him with a ceremony of sorts."

Emma mulled that over, and tilted her head back and forth. She didn't see any harm in it. "Yeah, I suppose that's the responsible thing to do."

"We have to do it soon before the puppies are born and as you may be aware, dogs only gestate for two months or so," Regina informed her as they continued their walk. She looked at the other woman with a secret fondness as she thought about the lunch she had been so thoughtful to bring her earlier.

"Yep, just tell me when and where, and Kalan and I will be there," she paused to pet her Golden and Regina took the opportunity to look him over. He really was a beautiful animal and she had been unfair with her judgment on his breeding.

They continued their walk and made idle small talk, finding they had more in common than either woman previously thought. When they returned to Regina's Henry pulled open the door and grinned at both of the dogs. "I can't wait for the puppies," he exclaimed.

"Henry, I see you're feeling better. Go on and take Clementine in and get her dinner ready. I have some good news for you."

….

Over the next few weeks, Emma and Kalan became a constant presence in the Mill's home. She would turn up every evening for their daily walk and Regina even called her when Clementine became withdrawn and lost her appetite. Emma had the vet helpline on speed dial and she checked out numerous books on dog pregnancy from the library to learn about what changes were happening in the dog's body. Regina had noticed how much fun Henry had playing with the dogs and Emma too. In fact, she realized how much fun she had with Emma and looked forward to their walks much more than she ever thought possible. She was sad to realize that once the pups were born Emma wouldn't be as involved in their lives.

Henry had helped plan the wedding: an outdoor affair, near the gazebo at the dog park for a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon. His teacher, Mary Margaret, annoyed Regina with her dreamy idealizations and she was sure that she was the woman who had put the idea of marriage into her son's head. Henry's entire class and their parents came out to witness the blessed event.

Ever since Henry had announced that his dog was going to have puppies during 'show and tell' all of the children had begged their parents to be allowed to adopt one of the golden doodles. The Swan-Mills wedding (aka Kalan and Clementine's big day) was the must go activity in the small town.

Mary Margaret was a bit Pinterest crazy and had made cute signs and decorations to hang all over the park. Henry was the ring bearer, and he held a velvet pillow with two matching leather collars for the dogs to present to one another. Clementine was fresh from the groomer, her belly was round and Regina had fitted her with a white veil. In turn, Kalan wore a black bowtie with a faux tuxedo shirt attached to his collar.

To further fit the theme, Regina had worn a white suit and Emma a black one. They made quite a portrait standing in front of the gazebo, and behind their dogs, smiling with pride. Henry stood on the side with the collars, as Mary Margaret began to officiate.

There were a few parts that made Regina a bit uncomfortable, and she didn't like the way Henry's teacher kept looking her and Emma in the eye. This was supposed to be a short ceremony so when she started quoting the bible, Regina had to step in. "Just get on with it, please."

"But we haven't done the unity candle lighting yet…" Mary Margaret frowned and her eyes widened sadly, so Regina shifted and looked at Emma who gave her a reassuring nod.

"Fine."

So the two women lit the unity candle, followed by a custom made sand sculpture, with the different colors of sand representing each individual in the family merging together in strength and in spirit. Henry was excited he got to participate in that. Finally, the collars were presented and since the dogs couldn't speak, Regina and Emma stepped in to recite the vows.

Finally, Mary Margaret pronounced them married, and looked a bit surprised when Regina and Emma didn't kiss each other. Emma thought the whole thing was a long and overly indulgent, but she enjoyed the theatrics. It was almost comical how seriously Mary Margaret seemed to be taking the silly dog wedding. The ceremony concluded as they all walked back down the aisle and prepared for the reception.

As the dogs drank water and enjoyed biscuits, the human guests milled around and congratulated Emma and Regina with tears and smiles.

"I just mailed off the license! I couldn't wait to send it and make everything officially official!" Mary Margaret clasped her hands together with excitement.

"What?"

"Your marriage license that you have to send to the state," the smiling woman further explained, looking back and forth between Regina and Emma who were not sharing her unbound enthusiasm.

"You mean that paper you asked us to sign wasn't just a liability waiver in case someone got bitten?" Emma asked with fear evident in her voice.

"No…"

"But you're not even a…minister. You don't actually have the power to marry us," Regina was starting to feel angry and sick to her stomach.

"I got ordained online! Why are you two acting like this? You're already married now is not the time for second thoughts. It's the time for celebration," Mary Margaret grabbed both woman around the shoulders and pulled them to her in a crushing hug.

When she finally pulled away and skipped off to find Henry, Emma and Regina looked at each other unable to form their thoughts into words. Emma spoke first, "what kind of kinky stuff did she think we were into with the collars and having our dogs here if she thought that you and I were actually getting married?"

Regina swallowed and stared off into the distance, frightened by the thought of it, but more frightened because now that the idea of being married to Emma was in the forefront of her mind the possibility calmed her.

"Mom! Something is wrong with Clementine!" Henry shouted as he raced over to Regina and Emma, pointing out the fact that the dog seemed to be starting her labor.

"Regina, I wanted to speak to you about claiming the first born pup," Mr. Gold stepped up and blocked Regina's path. "I'll give you whatever price you ask for."

"Now is not the time," Emma looked him square in the eye and pulled Regina by the hand away from Gold and toward Clementine. They made a mad dash to get her home and to the safety of the whelping box that Emma had prepared for her nesting needs.

There was so much to thinking about as they waited for the pups to be born. Emma, Regina, Henry and Kalan sat in the study giving Clementine her space as she became more restless and anxious. No food interested her and she wouldn't leave her nest to go outside.

"Henry, I need to ask you something and you need to be very honest with me," Regina sat her son down and tried to make sure he knew he wouldn't be in trouble. "Did you tell Ms. Blanchard that Emma and I were getting married and not the dogs?"

"Um…no, I mean she assumed and I didn't set her straight on it…" He looked down at his hands and finally up at his mother. "Is it a bad thing?"

Regina rubbed his neck and shook her head; she managed a tight smile and asked Emma to go make them some sandwiches. She nodded and left the room, looking relieved to not be a part of the awkward conversation.

"Henry, Emma and I haven't known each other for very long, and marriage should be a choice between the two people getting married. It's not something someone else should decide for them."

"Oh…I just wanted us to all be together, and Ms. Blanchard said that when two people are married they love each other and want to be a family," Henry's tears leaked out of his wide eyes as he buried his face in Regina's chest.

"We'll discuss it later, after Emma and I have a chance to talk," Regina looked over to see that Clementine was clearly beginning her contractions and the first sac holding a pup was starting to protrude from her vulva. "Here we go, Henry. The miracle of birth: it's better than any diagram."

"Oh my God, gross!" Henry whined as he looked away from the disgusting sight. Emma returned with a plate of food, but no one had any appetite as they watched the puppies be born. It was a long process and took some time between each one. They had read everything to prepare for complications, but it was best to leave the mother to her own instincts. She bit the cord herself and punctured each sac, beginning to lick her puppies to life. Regina was glad that the puppies came out healthy and without complications.

….  
The next month went by in a flash. Emma and Kalan had practically moved in, sleeping over and spending all of their free time to help tend to the puppies, which were growing by leaps and bounds every day. Kalan and Clementine couldn't have been more proud looking parents. Regina and Emma had avoided talking about getting an annulment, but their 'marriage' wasn't going to disappear. They received confirmation that they were officially recognized by the state of Maine as married.

"Um…so I know we kind of did this way backwards, but I want to take my wife out on a proper date without the kid or the dogs," Emma looked at Regina and took her hand. "Just us."

Regina's heart overflowed with love and a sense of calm and peace filled her, "I'd like that, dear."


End file.
